Marxism

Question 1

What is Marxism

Answer 1

• looks at how society is shaped by conflict between the rich and the poor
• focuses on how capitalism creates inequality and how powerful groups use institutions ( like education and media ) to keep control
• structural conflict theory

Question 2

What methods to Marx prefer

Answer 2

• quantitative data, to reveal patterns of inequality, exploitation, and class divisions
• historical analysis, to study changes in production
• secondary data, economic statistics, census data, historical documents

Question 3

What does Marx say about class society

Answer 3

Marx identified 3 successive class societies
- ancient society, based on the explanation of slaves tied to their owners
- feudal society, based on the exploitation of serfs legally tied to land
- capitalist society, based on the exploitation of free wage labourers

Question 4

What does Marx say

Answer 4

• society is divided into classes
  The bourgeoisie ( rich, own businessmen and land ) the proletariat ( working class, sell their labour to survive )
• the rich get richer by exploiting the poor
• the ruling class controls ideas, education, media to keep power this creates false consciousness, people don’t see their own oppression
  Marx believe the working class would eventually rise up and overthrow capitalism and create classless equal society ( communism )

Question 5

What does gramsci say - hegemony

Answer 5

The ruling class maintains its dominance in two ways
Coercion - the army, police, prisons and courts of the capitalist state force other classes to accepts its rules
Consent - the ruling class use ideas and values to persuade the working classes that their rules are legitimate
- Hegemony means the ruling class make their ideas seem like common sense so people accept inequality without questioning it
- Gramsci believed people aren’t brainwashed completely, they can develop their own ideas and fight back

Question 6

What did Althusser say

Answer 6

• argued it was not just economic base and superstructure that makes up capitalist society but it exists on three levels :
  On a political level - through the government and organisations in charge of society
  On a ideological level - known as the ideological state apparatus, reinforced by the media, education and religion
  On a economic level - through the economy and production of goods